NextView Ventures

David Beisel, Rob Go, and Lee Hower are non-partners at different-and-established venture capital (VC) firms. They decide to leave their positions to start a new seed-stage VC firm. The case covers the genesis of the firm, the formulation of its strategy and operations, and the founders’ fundraising efforts.
A key decision the case protagonists must make is whether to partner with two very successful entrepreneurs, who propose a merger with NextView. The two entrepreneurs are willing to invest up to $100 million personally and put NextView in business, but the expectation is that the firm will no longer be independent. NextView’s fundraising process has taken much longer than expected, and so, the NextView team considers a critical decision: merge and lose control or stay independent and risk failure.
Objectives of the case: 1. Chronicle the importance of a VC firm’s “Management Company” (the LLC that owns the firm) and the complex issues that surround it, 2. Discuss in detail how one VC firm formulated its strategy, portfolio construction approach, and operational processes (decision-making rights, vesting, an operating budget, and its marketing strategy), 3. Provide an example of how a VC firm fundraises a first-time fund.